Community activists have expressed concern following bystander video that shows off-duty Kansas City Police officers pushing down a handcuffed, Black woman in Kansas City's Power & Light District, and calling her an "animal."
"I think people need to first pause and allow us and our partners to review this incident in its entirety," KCPD Chief Stacey Graves told KCUR's Up To Date.
The incident involving 25-year-old Daysheion R. Ponds and multiple off-duty KCPD officers began at Pizza Bar on Jan. 28, the night of the AFC Championship game.
Graves says the department plans to review footage taken from Power & Light businesses. But she added it's also standard procedure to share the video with the county prosecutor and the FBI under an agreement made in 2015.
“Any time a video such as this, where excessive force is alleged, this is something we provide our partners that gives an outside look to it," Graves said. "But we still do review that internally.”
Graves said anytime an event like this surfaces, it hinders efforts to mend trust and relations between community members and the police.
She said the department needs community support to reduce violent crime in the city.
Appointed as police chief in Dec. 2022, Graves' first year ended with Kansas City setting a record-high homicide rate.
"I'm gonna tell you, when you look at those homicide numbers, you'll see there was 182 people killed in Kansas City by violence," Graves said. "If anyone listening to this thinks that they shouldn't be concerned if you're a resident of Kansas City, just because it's not happening in your neighborhood, you should be concerned."
- Stacey Graves, chief of police, Kansas City Police Department
